Walter Isaacson's authorized biography of Steve Jobs has leaked additional details about how Apple's co-founder felt about the populist, disdainful attacks on the products his teams worked to produce, noting in particular the launch of last year's iPad.

Early in 2010, Apple arranged a special event specifically to unveil the iPad, but the media covering the event (which AppleInsider attended) heaped scorn and castigation on the new product, complaining about its inability to run Adobe Flash and deriding it as "just a big iPod touch."

In the new book, according to a report by the Huffington Post, Jobs reportedly told Isaacson that the immediate media backlash left him "annoyed and depressed."

The night of the iPad launch, Jobs confided with his biographer, "I kind of got depressed today. It knocks you back a bit."

Knocking on Jobs

Complaints were attached to nearly every aspect of the new tablet; a review of the media's coverage of the new iPad makes it clear that very few in the media (or among financial analysts) saw even a portion of the real potential of the new product, and they didn't come around until Apple began reporting its sales figures.

Expressing a rare standout opinion, David Pogue of the New York Times noted, "That [criticism] will last until the iPad actually goes on sale in April. Then, if history is any guide, Phase 3 will begin: positive reviews, people lining up to buy the thing, and the mysterious disappearance of the basher-bloggers."

But by and large, the iPad was equated with Tablet PC and the Amazon Kindle and mocked as "over-hyped and under-delivered," while pundits demanded 2.0 features a year early. Hours after the iPad's unveiling, the phrase "iPad a disappointment" became a "spicy" trending topic as ranked by Google. Bloggers offered top ten lists of "reasons not to buy" the iPad.

Dan Lyons of Newsweek, who had built a career around mocking Jobs and has had plenty of nice things to say about free equipment Microsoft has sent him to review, sniped "I haven't been this let down since Snooki hooked up with The Situation," at the launch of the original iPad, adding in his "insta-reaction" that "Jobs himself seems tired and low-key. Speculation about his health, and its impact on Apple's ability to innovate, may only increase after today's event."

A year later, many of the same bloggers and journalists expressed giddy anticipation for Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets with a similar form factor, less software functionality and greater cost, tied to devices that weren't even ready for sale yet and wouldn't be for months.

Seething hatred for Jobs and Apple by members of the media

Despite having knocked a series of home runs out of the park with the original iPod, every iPod update, the iPhone and a widening series of new Mac models, members of the media pounced on Apple's iPad either in the expectation that it might fail and that they could be the first to predict such failure, or a simple bitterness about not being invited to the event.

The reaction of some members of the media to getting anything less than VIP treatment by Apple was characterized by San Mateo County police as "juvenile," while investigating the actions of Gizmodo bloggers involved in obtaining and refusing to return an iPhone 4 prototype last summer.

District Attorney Steven Wagstaffe stated, "It was obvious they were angry with the company about not being invited to some press conference or some big Apple event. We expected to see a certain amount of professionalism-this is like 15-year-old children talking." He added, "There was so much animosity, and they were very critical of Apple. They talked about having Apple right where they wanted them and they were really going to show them."

The end of the media's self fulfilling prophesies

Gizmodo wasn't alone in using its audience to heap contempt upon Apple and Jobs, sometimes out of vengeful malice for being snubbed, sometimes out of ideological hatred for Apple's business model or jealously of its success.

But regardless of their intent, fanning the flames of criticism against Apple has seemed to have a single result: the company weathered the storm of criticism and focused on delivering products customers wanted. Increasingly, that has also resulted in Apple's customer base growing, including people who would never have considered buying a Mac, but would look at the iPhone or iPad or the free iTunes, and then subsequently buy a Mac afterward based on their positive experiences.

Apple's customer base has exploded from what was around 20 million Mac users just five years ago into hundreds of millions of iTunes users who have purchased more than 250 million iOS devices. At the same time, Mac sales have also grown dramatically. Apple now sells around seven times as many Macs in a quarter as it did just a few years ago.

The power of the media (and the pundits they choose to interview) to actively repress Apple's sales in favor of alternative vaporware promises by its competitors has increasingly evaporated since the early days when tech news was printed on paper, a month or two after events actually happened. The immediacy of the Internet has allowed people to keep themselves independently informed, erasing the media's ability to erect fallacies and parade them around until they are recognized as facts.

Killing with faint praise

At the same time, while modern (if scathing) criticism of Apple has seemingly only made the company stronger and better adapted to delivering the products people are willing to buy, the overtly supportive glorification of Apple's competitors has appeared to have the opposite effect.

From their first appearance on the smartphone stage following Apple's iPhone, Google's Android, Palm's webOS and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 have caused the general media to bend over backward to scrounge for ideas they can praise while politely ignoring their faults. In general, the result has been that the customers they pushed toward these products have walked away irritated.

The media in general fawned over the premise of Android 3.0 Honeycomb Tablets, described Microsoft's Zune media player and KIN smartphone as interesting first efforts customers should consider while describing Microsoft's Courier project as being as real as the iPad, and offered nearly unbridled praise for the Amazon Kindle, Google ChromeBooks, and (initially) Windows Vista.

Rather than driving blockbuster sales for those products, glowing reviews and praise only had the affect of setting users' expectations higher than their respective vendors could deliver. Such polite reporting on companies outside of Apple has also had the effect of ignoring or covering up significant problems that more honest reporting should have demanded be fixed.

After being all but ignored for years, Google's security-free software model for Android is now suffering from a plague of malware approaching the extent of Windows XP ten years ago, except that smartphones often have far more sensitive data to steal and are easier to ring up fraudulent charges on than PCs. In contrast, any potential security flaws (or unpopular designs) released by Apple have been dogged with contempt until they are addressed. Typically, that has occurred before there were any real problems occurring in the wild.

Will the media continue to hate Apple into perfection or give it a pass to coast into irrelevance?

The efforts and resources Jobs channeled into the iPad and its iPad 2 successor this year were vindicated long before he passed away, making his pain and disappointment at its initial launch a short lived phenomenon.

With Apple now being run by Tim Cook and the executive team Jobs assembled and orchestrated, it remains to be see if the media will continue to mock and denigrate its products while enthusiastically recommending alternatives that are almost always inferior, poorly designed and deeply flawed.

If they do, it appears that Apple will continue to benefit from this over-the-top criticism. On the other hand, if the media in general begins to fawn over every new Apple release and grant Apple a free pass to deliver less than the best products, it's likely the the company will degenerate as rapidly as the health of a well fed monarch.

But the original criticism was warranted, it basically was a giant ipod Touch at launch and Apple improved the iPad immensely since then. They launched a tablet that initially couldn't even multitask. Now it's world class leading product.

But the original criticism was warranted, it basically was a giant ipod Touch at launch and Apple improved the iPad immensely since then. They launched a tablet that initially couldn't even multitask. Now it's world class leading product.

How was it warranted? Did the reviewers spend a lot of time with it? Nope. Then all of sudden when the competitors started copying Apple's approach, they declare each one an iPad killer without having using the devices.

But the original criticism was warranted, it basically was a giant ipod Touch at launch and Apple improved the iPad immensely since then. They launched a tablet that initially couldn't even multitask. Now it's world class leading product.

If you put your pants on one leg at a time and report to work for some Boss in the hopes of collection a check two weeks later then don't tell me SH** about what you think it hot or not.

What did Jobs expect? He could have stopped working years ago and would have lived comfortably. You don't go the to lackey for advice...what do they know? They aren't even smart enough to put themselves in a position where they don't have to work.

He's a mod so he has a few extra vBulletin privileges. That doesn't mean he should stop posting or should start acting like Digital Jesus.- SolipsismX

If you put your pants on one leg at a time and report to work for some Boss in the hopes of collection a check two weeks later then don't tell me SH** about what you think it hot or not.

What did Jobs expect? He could have stopped working years ago and would have lived comfortably. You don't go the to lackey for advice...what do they know? They aren't even smart enough to put themselves in a position where they don't have to work.

But the original criticism was warranted, it basically was a giant ipod Touch at launch and Apple improved the iPad immensely since then. They launched a tablet that initially couldn't even multitask. Now it's world class leading product.

Everyone is still missing the point. The media was right then and they would still be right if they stuck to their guns. Steve managed to sell something that is not as useful as something else he could shave sold. Imagine he came out with an iPad that ran a real OS and all that other shit. That would have been to everyone's expectations. Still, despite the large adoption, it does so little and he has somehow managed to force people to accept less.

This should really say the Tech Media and not just the Media. The overall media is generally pretty unbiased and has a greater appreciation for usability. I'd say the IT audience that follows technology trends has been much more confused by the tech media charades. I think since the iPad release, many of these media outlets have taken a step back realizing that they may be scaring away much of their reader base. I've stopped following many tech media outlets that started posting biased articles. Although Android is still often overpraised despite its weaknesses, I've really only seen negativity over the walled garden and the supposed inevitability of viruses on Apple platforms recently. Both of those "negatives" are really only going to turn away the irrational and those with certain highly idealized off-center opinions.

"With Apple now being run by Tim Cook and the executive team Jobs assembled and orchestrated, it remains to be see if the media will continue to mock and denigrate its products while enthusiastically recommending alternatives that are almost always inferior, poorly designed and deeply flawed. "

You have GOT to be kidding.

People who have been around for longer than a few years will remember that every Apple launch of ANYTHING is greeted with squealing ecstasy from fanboys, magazine cover stories bordering on outright fellatio, and standing ovations from everyone else.

The idea that Apple is the underdog in the media coverage department is flat-out false.

It is....I accept full responsibility for the brashness of my posting but all things being considered would you take marriage advice from a person who's been divorced 4 times?

Jobs appeared to be a man consumed by the search for harmony, balance and perfection in everything he does. He found success so early that he never had to mold himself into what someone else wanted so it's entirely reasonable that from his Point of View he simply couldn't understand how analysts and the Tech Media missed the boat.

But that's what made Jobs special. He didn't build according to a "checklist" of what the competition had. He built to what he thought would be a great product.

Steve wasn't working 60 hours a week to fulfill someone else's dream as opposed to many of the pundits that slagged the iPad when it came out. Sometimes the truth is a harsh one.

He's a mod so he has a few extra vBulletin privileges. That doesn't mean he should stop posting or should start acting like Digital Jesus.- SolipsismX

But the original criticism was warranted, it basically was a giant ipod Touch at launch and Apple improved the iPad immensely since then. They launched a tablet that initially couldn't even multitask. Now it's world class leading product.

The criticism was not warranted. The critics were myopic. Jobs hit a friggin' grand slam that was destined to change the industry and the critics couldn't see it.

Now I'll speculate and say that most critics couldn't see it. Critics like Bill Gates and Steve Palmer probably could see it, but they chose to lie about it because iPad 1 made them look incompetent.

Millions of people bought the original iPad and they are extremely happy with it. even without multitasking.

Not having multitasking on a tablet was a fail in many ways? that's your opinion and we dont care. Millions of people loved the original iPad with or without multitasking. you're just a bitter old fool.

Haha, name calling? and who's we? You pathetic opinion isn't worth any more or less than mine. Who ruined your cereal this morning. Get real.

But the original criticism was warranted, it basically was a giant ipod Touch at launch and Apple improved the iPad immensely since then. They launched a tablet that initially couldn't even multitask. Now it's world class leading product.

No. This is historical revisionism you are indulging in here.

The "missing multi-tasking" is a function of the OS not the iPad and was available within a month of it's launch anyway. The iPad sold like gangbusters from day one regardless of that fact. It wasn't hobbled, missing any parts, or incomplete in any way.

The day Apple stops being undervalued and over-criticized, will be the day they enter the halls of irrelevance. The core of their existence is a constant push forward, regardless of petty popular opinion.

Thanks Daniel. Not only does this piece highlight how bad pub hit Jobs personally, and trace the unfair and unbalanced trade press back thru the roots of print, your final couple paragraphs might be the most important.

But the original criticism was warranted, it basically was a giant ipod Touch at launch and Apple improved the iPad immensely since then. They launched a tablet that initially couldn't even multitask. Now it's world class leading product.

I purchased the first iPad a few weeks after it's release and did not think it was hampered in any important way. It's form and function is still a delight and what limitations it may have had for some users disappeared with the iOS 4 update that followed. Compared to what other companies were messing around with Apple not only showed the world how to put a magical device in our hands, it also showed us all a sneak peek into the future of computing for the masses.

There has been no product ever made that can match the fantasies of a nerd, nor should any monstousity ever be.

Its an incredible thing. Knowing your gonna die and yet be committed to your company that you worked so hard in developing as the #1 tech industry corp in the world. I would imagine that the emotions were over whelming at times. What would you do if you knew you were gonna die. One day your eyes would shut and you would take your last breath? What would you do? On top of everything else you run a company and have control over almost every thing that happens there. I have to say that Steve was very strong and dedicated. When people had a colder response to the iPad I am sure he was over whelmed. I don't blame him. But eventually he got to see the turn around of the iPad reception. At least I am comforted that he was pleased to see the sales go through the roof.

I agree that the media and especially the analysts have never gotten Apple right. But one of the reasons for all the criticism recently is simply because Apple is no longer a niche computer company as it once was. It's a company with enormous revenues and on good days has the highest market cap and that makes it an easy target.

In addition, the press loves to build up and then take down companies (or people) and the blogosphere just makes it even worse. There are many people who get their jollies criticizing Jobs et al in nasty, immature ways to make themselves feel better in their $40,000 a year jobs sitting in a cubicle.

I don't envy Cook because the press is ready to believe that Apple can no longer achieve greatness without Steve Jobs. Although once the book is released next week, I'm sure the press will obsess over any little bit of nastiness they can find and they'll try to make Jobs look bad.

The press and consumers also have amazingly unrealistic expectations. It's almost impossible to impress anybody with anything anymore, no matter how great it is. And I can see how when someone puts blood, sweat and tears into producing something great and doesn't get much of a positive reaction to it, how that can be depressing.

I was at the Audio Engineering Society convention in New York earlier today where Avid was showing off the new version of ProTools, which has some amazing new functionality as well as remarkable performance improvements. They got a big crowd to watch the demos, but the crowd didn't react to anything.

I participate in some online forums about HDTV. Posters there nitpick every little flaw they can find to death. Negativity is the rule.

I think it's simply become impossible to impress people and the mantra of the web is either to be a fanboy or a troll. Sometimes it seems like there's no middle ground.

I think Licensing KILLS the urge of innovation as a vehicle for survival.
Licensing IS bad for start-ups.

?: Confused? Let me explain. Anyone can build a business to compete with Apple, but how would you compete with Microsoft or Google?
Still confused?: Google and Microsoft hide under the cartel that sells their OS. How can a start ups compete against the almighty cartels that sell Android and Microsoft OS.

Probably you'll never got it. Apple = today Germany, while Microsoft and now Google = USA current economic model, where cheap is cherished, because it allows easy market-share grab.

An iPad without your favorite apps is mostly just a nifty web browser. And you have to remember back then that there wasn't really much, if any, syncing between the iPad and the iPhone like there is now with iCloud.

Of course, I think he was much more proud of himself after the iPad 2 launch as people literally clamored for the device.

But the original criticism was warranted, it basically was a giant ipod Touch at launch and Apple improved the iPad immensely since then. They launched a tablet that initially couldn't even multitask. Now it's world class leading product.

I'm not one to debate on what's "real" multitasking and what's "fake" multitasking. As far as I'm concerned, it could play music in the background while surfing the web and get notified of messages and emails while doing so. That to me, is multitasking.

I find the general attitude towards Apple to be very symptomatic of society as a whole right now. It's cynical, twisted, self-important and self-serving. Apple are positive, relentlessly so, and some people just cannot stand that. That says more about them than it does about Apple.

The reaction to the iPad was utterly pathetic. A big iPod Touch? I cannot tell you have annoying I find that criticism. The iPod Touch was an enormously successful product, itself a new product category of sorts in 2007. Making a device with all the strengths of this hugely successful device but with few of the inherent weaknesses commensurate with its size proved to be visionary. Yes, that is the word.

"It's just a 4-door Ferrari! hahahahah!!!!!"
"And...?"

While everyone was disappointed that Apple didn't release a tablet running Snow Leopard, Apple was seeing clearly and bringing a product to market that has since proved all the amateurish blogsphere wrong. That's the problem with tech, half the reaction is curated by amateurs, not serious honest, unbiased (or at least making a noble attempt to be so) opinion.

Apple focussed on what the device was supposed to achieve, what it was to bring to lives of people who used it. The blogosphere wanted a tech demo of OSX on a tablet. The fact that it would have been useless didn't matter to them.

What is also COMPLETELY missed even to this day is that fact that iOS and OSX are the same animal. This is a touch of sheer vision by Apple. As tablets increase in power iOS can be brought up to full OSX power over time until the touch interface is essentially a UI on the same OS. Apple can do this as steadily as they see fit. Android can't do this, it doesn't have a desktop OS (Chrome looks DOA, at best it's embryonic). Microsoft can't do this with WP7 as it bears little resemblance technically to Windows on the desktop. What you are seeing is Windows 8 being marketed as a tablet-friendly OS. I believe time will show that the industry has moved on from the days of being enchanted with Windows. People will see that Windows 8 will not a good tablet make. I also see Windows 8 on a tablet as only hurting WP7 OS as an ecosystem, but that's another topic.

I can understand Steve Jobs' frustrations entirely. You work your backside off to make something you believe will bring joy to millions of consumers and all you get is abuse. As many have pointed out, money was not his motivation. He genuinely believed his products could enrich the world and seeing them slammed in the media for spurious reasons must have been very annoying and depressing indeed.

The "missing multi-tasking" is a function of the OS not the iPad and was available within a month of it's launch anyway. The iPad sold like gangbusters from day one regardless of that fact. It wasn't hobbled, missing any parts, or incomplete in any way.

"Multitasking" (if you can call it that) didn't come until 4.3, which came in the fall. The iPad didn't have Apple's version of multitasking for more than six months after launch.

Multitasking? it is nice to have, but never was essential. save the much overused adolescent slang "fail" for things that are genuinely essential but lacking (like email on the BB PlayBook, for example).

Flash? neither nice, since it worked like crap, nor essential.

Removable battery? it was always stupid to open up any valuable electronic device to dirt, dust, moisture, and finger oil for any reason.

the boo-birds that have shown up here are the same kind of boo-birds that pooh-pooh anything Apple comes out with. which is DED's point. surprised it got to Jobs, tho, i really thought he was too arrogant to be bothered by it. sounds like he was more vulnerable than we realized.

the average intellectual maturity age of many of the tech bloggers - like Gizmodo - is around 17 years old. talk about arrested development ...

An iPad without your favorite apps is mostly just a nifty web browser. And you have to remember back then that there wasn't really much, if any, syncing between the iPad and the iPhone like there is now with iCloud.

Of course, I think he was much more proud of himself after the iPad 2 launch as people literally clamored for the device.

And you don't think the first day sales figures of the iPad1 put a smile on his face? 300k units?

I can understand that he was down after the iPad speech - who wouldn't be? But that first day of shipping, he would have been bouncing off the ceiling. And the fact that he proved all the pundits wrong would have been even better.

The iPad had multi tasking from launch but only for a select few apps. I remember getting my iPad early and playing music in the background. It wasn't until later that Apple exposed the multitasking API for third parties to leverage.

The iPad was overly hyped. The Tech Press had built up the iPad to ridiculous proportions much like the mythical iPhone 5.

By the time the product launched it could have been made from Adamantium and there would have been a chorus of boos.

It wasn't until I had my iPad and realized how much more involving the iPad was in touch because of the larger screen and the incredible battery life that I realized its impact fully.

He's a mod so he has a few extra vBulletin privileges. That doesn't mean he should stop posting or should start acting like Digital Jesus.- SolipsismX

There were -- and are -- areas where Apple has really screwed up. The current IOS 5 release will WIFI sync on XP, a 10 year old non-native OS, but it won't WIFI sync on Leopard, a 4-year old NATIVE Apple OS, not on Intel or on the PPC. This is an arbitrary -- and stupid -- limitation. Apple is dead silent on the issue, re-dropping a ball they had already dropped badly enough, frankly.

With Lion, Apple dropped PPC emulation -- completely arbitrarily -- thus throwing a whole generation of otherwise perfectly good -- and working well -- software in the trash.

There are real improvements that could be made, about which there have been numerous suggestions: the iPod/iPad could have had a mono-out option right out of the gate, both to enable those with one good ear, and to allow music in one ear and monitoring of, for instance, a baby's cry in the next room. It took a LONG time to get that simple software fix into the system, despite loud cries from the hearing disabled community. The iPad could have had an IR emitter, a matter of a few pennies: an IR diode and a hole in the case, and it would have made an AWESOME remote control. The iPad could have a memory slot for any number of good reasons.

Snow Leopard was such a highly incompatible release, a third party website sprang up to try and help people deal with the software mayhem... and that was nothing compared to Lion.

People with Leopard (10.5.x)... not even invited to the whole "Ap Store" party. And why? Completely arbitrary, that's why. No good reason at all, other than they wanted to push Snow Leopard and subseqently Lion.

Want to complain about it? Go to Apple's feedback page, and select your OS. Your options are Snow Leopard and Lion. They don't even what to HEAR from you if you haven't bought a new OS from them.

I could go on, but suffice it to say, that while Apple has indeed done well, particularly in the hardware area, perfect it most certainly is not. I can only hope that with new management, someone there will remember that people who bought new machines 4 years ago are still potential customers, and perhaps its not all that bright an idea to kick them in a down economy for no good reason at all.

I can't tell you how annoying it is to read articles from other tech sites that seem to be written on a cocktail napkin and then typed while drunk, filled with typos and lacking a clear, concise statement. So I applaud you for this well written article and although I knew most of what I was reading already, I still enjoyed reading your article, I hope you keep up the good work and continue to hold yourself to a higher standard so I can continue to read about the products I enjoy and the people behind them.

1. Accesss to content and games in the most comfortable spots in my home.
2. Instant on made it a easier to grab, especially for short sessions.
3. A more natural device to rest on my lap.
4. A cool app store to explore with instant gratification.
5. An e-reader.
6. Lightweight travel companion.
7. Freedom from power chords.

These are what many others loved. Freedom from the negative features of laptops and desktops. Pundits bashed the inability to do their jobs on the device. They were probably right. But that was not the intended use.

There were -- and are -- areas where Apple has really screwed up. The current IOS 5 release will WIFI sync on XP, a 10 year old non-native OS, but it won't WIFI sync on Leopard, a 4-year old NATIVE Apple OS, not on Intel or on the PPC. This is an arbitrary -- and stupid -- limitation. Apple is dead silent on the issue, re-dropping a ball they had already dropped badly enough, frankly.

With Lion, Apple dropped PPC emulation -- completely arbitrarily -- thus throwing a whole generation of otherwise perfectly good -- and working well -- software in the trash.

There are real improvements that could be made, about which there have been numerous suggestions: the iPod/iPad could have had a mono-out option right out of the gate, both to enable those with one good ear, and to allow music in one ear and monitoring of, for instance, a baby's cry in the next room. It took a LONG time to get that simple software fix into the system, despite loud cries from the hearing disabled community. The iPad could have had an IR emitter, a matter of a few pennies: an IR diode and a hole in the case, and it would have made an AWESOME remote control. The iPad could have a memory slot for any number of good reasons.

Snow Leopard was such a highly incompatible release, a third party website sprang up to try and help people deal with the software mayhem... and that was nothing compared to Lion.

People with Leopard (10.5.x)... not even invited to the whole "Ap Store" party. And why? Completely arbitrary, that's why. No good reason at all, other than they wanted to push Snow Leopard and subseqently Lion.

Want to complain about it? Go to Apple's feedback page, and select your OS. Your options are Snow Leopard and Lion. They don't even what to HEAR from you if you haven't bought a new OS from them.

I could go on, but suffice it to say, that while Apple has indeed done well, particularly in the hardware area, perfect it most certainly is not. I can only hope that with new management, someone there will remember that people who bought new machines 4 years ago are still potential customers, and perhaps its not all that bright an idea to kick them in a down economy for no good reason at all.

This is absolutely stupid. If Microsoft introduces an application store software for Windows it won't be on Windows XP too.